566 New Colors from Pantone

With such a huge selection of Pantone colors at your disposal, why not use them. Adding additional colors to your project will surely enhance the piece and in many instances, improve its quality.

For example, you still see a number of projects utilizing screens and process builds to create color for copy. Though this will save you a bit in costs, utilizing 100% of a Pantone color will create much sharper, more readable copy. After all, the goal of the project is to deliver a message, correct?

Running Pantone colors will also increase your control over your press run resulting in a better finished product. Please don't misunderstand me here. You can still produce high quality projects with 4-color process.

My point is that most pieces utilize specific color palettes throughout. If you are trying to keep solid colors or screens consistent from page to page, than you may sometimes find yourself making sacrifices to fleshtones, product shots or other pieces or art within the project.

Running Pantones in these instances will give the press operator much more control over color.

Maybe most importantly, if your organization utilizes a color or colors that directly represent your brand, than the use of a Pantone color is always the best way to maintain consistency across multiple projects.

If you have a project in development and question whether or not the use of a Pantone color is necessary or recommended, please give us a call. We're happy to review the project with you and offer our insight into what will yield the best results.

The Utopia Green Zone

Appleton Coated has put together a very cool and useful website called "The Utopia Green Zone".

As you can see from the screen capture above, it contains four micro-sites that are aimed at educating those interested in "Green" print production.

It's obvious that more and more companies and organizations are expanding their "Green" initiatives and I think that this site from Utopia is a great resource for developing your own standard processes.

It will take you a few minutes to navigate through the site, so grab a coffee or something and get comfortable. It's time well spent spent.

FSC Website Worth Checking Out

I posted a link yesterday on facebook pertaining the FSC and its US website. It occurred to me that it would be worth mentioning on this blog as well.

By now, most of us are all somewhat familiar with the FSC and its mission. But, have you ever taken the time to visit their website? I do all the time as I'm constantly referencing the ever-growing list of certified papers.

You can download their Product Labeling Guide, a very useful tool detailing the do's and dont's of label usage, by clicking on the link in the "Download Center" along the left side of this page. This among several other useful PDFs are available for download on the FSC site as well.

Grab a coffee, launch Firefox and check it out.

Print Grows Trees Webinar (Registration)

Click the Image to Register.

Definitely worth checking out if you have the time.

Thanks.

Apples-to-Apples Comparisons?

I'm hearing this more and more these days, but the reality is that there's no such thing. At least not as it pertains to commercial printing.

There are just far too many variables that can affect your project that aren't measured in the "low bid" print environment.

Let's take technology for example. Is it a fair assessment that a new Heidelberg press with 6-color and in-line aqueous coating capabilities would have better print characteristics than an older press with less automation? I think so. But that isn't taken into account in many cases.

In fact, there are so many important factors that aren't always taken into account. Technology is obviously a big one, but what about experience, customer service, the advantages of aqueous coatings over varnishes (which there are many) and environmental awareness to name just a few.

Let's face it, the economic climate right now is not terrific and that's being generous. Companies, big and small, good and bad are bidding on the same pool of business. How can you be sure that you're projects are in the right hands?

The best advice that I can give to you is to know your vendors and ask lots of questions.

If your lowest price is significantly lower than the rest, ask why that is? If you want the benefits of an aqueous coating, make sure that's what you're getting. Varnishes are often substituted for aqueous coatings since a lot of older presses aren't equipped with the capability. I

If you're project has more than 4 colors plus varnishes or coatings, make sure your vendors can produce it in one press pass (unless a special process like a dry-trap spot varnish is called for). There are still a lot of companies that only have 4 or 5 color presses. It's not uncommon in these cases to produce a project in 2 passes, but there's no doubt that this will directly affect print quality.

I guess the point that I'm trying to make here is that not all bids are created equal. If you're aware of the differences between your vendors, you can make an informed decision and ultimately get more value for your print spend.

And of course, when it doubt, just award the project to us. : - )

Magnets Made Easy

So I'm not sure if you've ever gone through the process of sourcing a magnet or not.

It can be a rather lengthy and expensive process if you go through the traditional means of magnet production.

If you have a need for a magnet, than Magnecote is a great solution.

Magnecote has taken Sterling Ultra and combined it with a magnetic coating to create a paper that can be perforated, diecut, laminated and produced on a sheet-fed press.

We've run it on number of occasions and have had great results.

If you're interested in seeing Magecote samples, simply click HERE, fill out the form and submit.

Is Your Brochure Bound for a Binder?

Have you ever even heard of a loop stitch? Don't feel bad if you haven't. There aren't alot of printers out there that do it. In fact, we hadn't for a long time either.

If you have heard of loop stitching, you might have found it to be a pricier form of binding. If so, that's probably because most printers outsource the service and therefore you find yourself paying for the transport of your materials to and from a bindery that does loop stitch.

If you are fortunate enough to have a vendor who has loop stitching capabilities than you've got a great alternative to the standard 3-hole punch technique. Of course, when I refer to your vendor I'm talking about us!

Don't get me wrong, the standard 3-hole punch approach is fine. We're happy to do that for you. But, the loop stitch is definitely more functional and looks much cooler as an end product.